DayTwo, the Startup Idea from Inventor of USB Drive Raises $12M

“[DayTwo] made me understand the importance of making breakthrough technology accessible to the public and to health and insurance companies who can offer the service to their patients.” – Marius Necht, billionaire investor and cofounder of DayTwo

DayTwo has developed an application that provides customized nutritional recommendations, based on the mapping and analysis of the composition of the microbiome of your body. To expand their work the Israeli startup has secured a Series A round from medical and personal care FMCG giant, Johnson & Johnson; billionaire investor Marius Nacht, the non-profit medical research group endowed with assets close to 7 billion dollars, Mayo Clinic, along with funds from French government allies and other investors who specialize in investments in intestinal bacteria. Together with previous investments, the company has invested 17 million dollars to date.

DayTwo 's technology is based on research conducted by Prof. Eran Segal and Prof. Eran Elinav of the world acclaimed research university, the Weizmann Institute. The two found that identical foods can cause different blood sugar reactions in different people, and that the composition of the intestinal bacteria, which is unique to each individual, contributes to a different reaction. The study found that food that leads to a balanced sugar reaction in one person may lead to an increase in sugar levels in another. This means that foods that we perceive as healthy are also found to be in some cases not recommended and vice versa. For example, foods that are commonly seen as healthy, such as rice, may be found to be a food that is not recommended for some people.

Based on the study, DayTwo has developed an application that helps reduce blood sugar levels, allowing each person to maintain balanced glucose levels and thus maintain a healthier lifestyle. The company's technology is based on a machine learning algorithm that allows us to predict the blood glucose response after a meal. Before receiving dietary recommendations in the application, users should purchase a kit for intestinal bacterial testing and send it back to the company to receive personal recommendations as to which foods they are recommended to eat and which should be avoided.

Dietary recommendations are presented via the smartphone and computer app. In addition, users can assemble meals on their own and receive a personal score according to their suitability. The company recently launched an affiliate program that allows dieticians, nutritionists and clinics to help form customized diet using technology and to provide a personalized Microbiome-based analysis service to their clients.

DayTwo was founded by Yuval Ofek, Lihi Segal, Yair Schneidel and Marius Nacht. The Weizmann Institute study was recommended to the founders by Dov Moran, entrepreneur and inventor of the USB flash drive. Nacht actually took part in the study to measure validity of its findings. During the study he discovered that he was pre-diabetic; something Nacht had no clue about. "The results surprised me very much because as an investment manager, I undergo extensive tests regularly, and they all missed the development of diabetes. It made me understand the importance of making breakthrough technology accessible to the public and to health and insurance companies who can offer the service to their patients.”

The latest financing will help the company continue to expand and recruit workers for development teams, expand commercial infrastructure in Israel and the United States, and continue research with the Weizmann Institute and the Mayo Clinic. (According to reports from geektime.co.il)